Page 16 of Mitchell’s Untamed Mate (More Than Human #2)

M itchell held his hand out to Tracy and pulled her up the ice-encrusted slope of the stream. They were close. The last two days had been long and tiring. They had kept up a punishing pace across difficult terrain.

He looked up at the pass. Fresh snow covered the ground. Fog from his breath was thick. Tracy breathed in and out, matching his accelerated breathing from their climb, as she paused to adjust the knit hat she was wearing. They had added layers to their clothing this morning as the temperatures dropped.

Their climbing helped keep them warm, but it didn’t stop him from worrying about his people. The late snowfall would make things harder, especially with their low food supplies and lack of wood for building fires. His stomach clenched at the thought of anyone dying because of his decisions.

“We are almost there,” he said.

“Mitchell… look,” Tracy murmured.

He looked up. Someone had emerged from the boulders. They wore a thick fur covering that blended with the snow and rocks. He breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized the man.

“Connell,” he called in greeting.

“Hold there, Mitchell,” Connell called back.

Mitchell frowned. He reached behind him when he noticed two more members of his clan emerge. Jace and Jayden stood behind Connell. Jayden had an arrow pointed at Tracy. Mitchell cursed and stepped in front of Tracy with a menacing sneer.

“Lower your weapon, Jayden,” he ordered in a harsh voice.

Jayden ignored him. His gaze swept over the group before pausing on Jace’s face. Jace refused to meet his eyes.

“What’s going on, Connell?” he demanded.

Connell’s gaze flickered between Mitchell and Tracy. “Why did you bring a shifter here?”

Mitchell released Tracy’s hand and motioned around them. “I will explain everything once we reach the village.”

“You can’t bring a shifter into the village,” Jayden growled.

His expression hardened. “That is not your call, Jayden.”

“No, it is mine,” Connell said.

Mitchell stiffened. “I am the leader of the clan.”

Connell shook his head. “Not any longer.”

Mitchell’s focus returned to Jace’s face. “What exactly did you tell them?”

Jace stared back at him with an uneasy expression. “That you found a shifter.”

“It doesn’t matter what he said. What matters is that you would bring a shifter here, to the last place where we have found refuge. You’ve endangered us all, Mitchell. You know the penalty for that better than anyone,” Connell said.

“He’s trying to save your lives,” Tracy countered.

“Shut up, beast!” Jayden sneered with contempt.

Fury seared through Mitchell and he took a step forward. “Watch your mouth, Jayden. Tracy is right. I am trying to save our people’s lives.”

“By bringing an Other into the clan? You banned Ella for saving one of their lives and now you bring them right to us,” Jayden snapped.

“Enough!” Connell’s bellow rang out, echoing through the mountain pass. “Why did you bring her?”

Mitchell breathed deeply, trying to control his anger. He understood why Connell and Jayden were upset. They hadn’t met Tracy. What he didn’t understand was why Jace had betrayed him.

“I have a proposal to present to the elders. Tracy is here to help explain things to everyone,” he said.

“She can’t be allowed into the village,” Jayden snapped.

Connell raised his hand, motioning for Jayden to be quiet. Mitchell waited, the silence stretching out as he allowed Connell the time to come to terms with the inevitable outcome. What he and Tracy had to share needed to be presented before everyone. It was too big a decision to be made by one person.

“Bind them both. Blindfold the… woman,” Connell ordered.

“Like hell,” Mitchell growled, thrusting his hand back protectively toward Tracy and stepping backwards.

Tracy placed her hand on his arm. “Mitchell, if this is the only way to speak to your people, then I will do it. There is too much at stake for pride.”

Her quiet voice washed over him. He shook his head in denial even though he knew she was right. Cursing under his breath, he turned and pulled her into his arms.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” he promised.

She reached up and caressed his cheek. “Everything will be alright,” she murmured, kissing him.

He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “How do you know?”

She smiled. “Because you told me it would be.”

He chuckled at her confidence. His humor faded when he looked up to see Jace standing beside him. Jace had the decency to look regretful.

“I’m sorry about this, man,” Jace murmured, motioning for him to hold his wrists out.

“This isn’t over. Don’t blindfold her. The climb will be difficult enough without being able to use our hands. If you cover her eyes, it will be damn near impossible,” Mitchell retorted, glaring at Connell.

Connell pursed his lips and shook his head. “We can’t let her see where we are going. I’ll help her.”

“Put your hands out,” Jayden ordered Tracy.

Tracy smiled at Jayden. “Ella misses you.”

Jayden glared at Tracy and pulled the ropes tighter. Tracy winced when the coarse fibers bit into the tender flesh of her wrists. Mitchell cursed and tried to reach for her, but Jace jerked at the length of rope holding him. Tracy’s eyes locked with his for a fraction of a second before Jayden placed a folded piece of material over her eyes and tied it behind her head.

“Let’s go,” Connell said.

Mitchell held back until Tracy stepped in front of him. He stumbled slightly when Jace pushed him between his shoulder blades. He pushed back with his shoulder, almost knocking Jace off his feet. Jace pulled the knife at his waist free and held it in front of him.

“I know how to walk. Unless you plan on using that on me now, keep your hands to yourself,” Mitchell growled.

Jace glared back at him. Mitchell didn’t start moving until Jace twirled the knife and slid it back into the sheath at his waist. They fell into step after another brief standoff.

“I didn’t think you’d make it back,” Jace commented several minutes later.

Mitchell didn’t reply. He kept his focus on the ground in front of them. The terrain was rocky and slippery thanks to the ice that had built up under the snow.

“What happened after I left?” Jace asked.

He kept his silence. His focus locked on Tracy’s back. Jace finally huffed out a curse and quit talking. Jayden led the way while Connell guided Tracy over the uneven, rock-and-ice-covered path. Mitchell watched with frustration when she almost fell for the dozenth time. He breathed a sigh of relief when Connell reached out and ripped the blindfold off. Tracy staggered to a stop, blinking against the sudden brightness.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Connell nodded. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t,” she quietly replied.

Mitchell looked around to get his bearings. They had reached the crest and the splendor of the mountain and forest lay before them. The majestic beauty and power of the mountains held all of them mesmerized for a moment. The snow-capped, jagged mountains rose into the sky, touching the varying shades of gray, fluffy clouds.

The familiar lines were etched into his mind. For generations, humans had traveled the narrow corridors that cut through the mountains as they moved between north and south. As his clan had dwindled over time, their journey had become shorter and shorter until they had found solace within the thousands of acres that surrounded the mountain peak, unaware that they were slowly being surrounded by the growing population of shifters.

They would begin their descent along the ridgeline now. The narrow path with its steep slopes would give way to wider, though uneven, ground. There was a large cave, hidden by a rock slide, slightly above the timberline. The cave had been discovered by humans long ago. Petroglyphs from generations of humans graced the interior of the cave, giving each generation a history of the one before it.

“Another storm is coming. We need to reach the village before it hits,” Jayden said, pointing to the darkening skies over the mountain.

“How long before we reach it?” Tracy asked.

“Two hours… if we are lucky,” Connell replied.

They started forward as one, understanding the dire circumstance they could find themselves in if they were caught in a storm on the mountain. Lightning, hail, heavy snow, and avalanches were all weighing on their minds as they moved at a steady clip. Mitchell cursed more than once when he almost lost his balance. Having his hands tied together made it difficult to recover.

Jace echoed his curse and gripped his arm. “To hell with this. I’m not going to be responsible for you breaking a leg… or worse, your neck.”

Jace pulled his knife from the sheath at his side and slid it between the rope binding Mitchell’s wrists, cleanly slicing the woven bonds. Mitchell looked at Tracy. Jace muttered under his breath when he noticed where he was looking.

“Connell, cut her free. It won’t do us any good if she falls and we have to carry her,” Jace called.

Connell looked back, saw what Jace had done, and nodded. Tracy slowed to a stop and held her arms out. She winced when Connell cut through the rope.

Mitchell’s blood heated with anger when he saw the red welts. Tracy shook her head at him, turned, and began following Jayden, who hadn’t realized they had stopped behind her. Freed from the bonds, he and Tracy were able to move across the uneven ground with more confidence.

When the wind picked up, Mitchell instinctively tucked his chin, shielding his face from the biting cold. The temperatures were rapidly dropping. They wouldn’t make it to the cave before the storm. No sooner had the thought occurred to him than a torrent of freezing rain and ice pellets started descending from the sky. Within minutes, their clothes were drenched and clinging to their bodies.

Gritting his teeth against the discomfort, they plowed forward, slipping and sliding on the ice beginning to form as the temperature dropped below freezing. Ice crystals formed on his clothing. His exposed skin burned from the frigid wind ripping down from the mountain.

Relief coursed through him when he recognized the slabs of boulders. He pushed forward, reaching out to steady Tracy when her foot slipped on a rock. She looked up at him. Her cheeks were rosy from the wind and cold, but it was the fatigue reflected in her eyes that made him tighten his grip.

“We’re almost there. The entrance is behind those boulders,” he murmured, holding her hand.

She nodded. He wasn’t sure she had the strength to answer him. He stayed beside her, holding her hand and guiding her across the slippery slope to the entrance to the cave. Time slowed to a crawl and every step was pure torture. They had been driving themselves hard for days now with little food or sleep, and it had finally caught up with them.

Using the last of his dwindling strength, he guided Tracy around the boulder. Almost instantly, the wind disappeared, blocked by the massive slabs. Without the headwind pushing them back, he was able to catch a second wind.

Tracy leaned wearily against him as they entered the narrow entrance. Warmth struck them ten feet inside. Protected from the volatile weather and warmed by the multiple firepits that distributed heat around the cave, the warmth made the interior of the cavern almost hot after being outside. Unfortunately, it also melted the layers of ice that had formed on their clothing.

Mitchell felt Tracy shiver as the cold water seeped through her protective layers of clothing. Her teeth began to chatter. Her breath came in trembling pants. She moaned when his fingers brushed the raw skin on her wrist.

“Mitchell!” Mallory exclaimed.

Excited murmurs burst from the others as word spread of their arrival. Mallory and Rand came over, slowing when they saw Tracy. Mallory’s eyes widened when she noticed Tracy shivering.

“Mitchell?” Mallory asked.

“Mallory, this is Tracy. She needs to get into some dry clothes and get some rest. Can you please help her?” he requested.

Mallory looked back and forth between them before her expression softened with compassion. Mitchell breathed a sigh of relief. While Jayden might be stubborn as hell, her mom and dad were both compassionate individuals. He gently guided Tracy into Mallory’s capable hands, grimacing when he noticed Jayden’s stern glare followed by her rolling her eyes as she turned away.

He would change and meet with the other elders. Bert or Thomas would have brought his things with them when they left their last encampment. He scanned the cave. Small groups had formed around the young.

“Your stuff is over here. Let’s get changed,” Connell said with a sigh.

“What happened to having me bound and all that?” he asked.

Connell shrugged. “I’m too damn cold to worry about it at the moment. Besides, with the weather like it is outside, I don’t think either you or the beast-girl will want to leave.”

“Tracy… her name is Tracy. She’s important to me,” he quietly replied.

Connell looked over in the direction Mallory had guided Tracy. “Yeah. I could tell. Get changed. I’ll see if I can find us some food.”

Mitchell watched as Connell walked away. As he glanced around, he noticed the group’s wary eyes fixed on him. Shaking his head, he walked over to the far side of the cave. Bert sat on a log, puffing on a weathered wooden pipe that seemed to have aged alongside him.

“See you brought something back,” Bert said in greeting.

“Someone, not something, and her name is Tracy,” he growled.

Bert chuckled and puffed out a ring of smoke. “Shifter got under your skin too, I see. What is she?”

Mitchell glanced across the cave. Tracy had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt. Mallory was holding a handwoven blanket out to her. Tracy must have said something that Mallory liked because the older woman beamed with delight before ushering Tracy to sit on a log that had been set up near a small firepit.

The glow of the fire danced across Tracy’s face as she listened to whatever Mallory was sharing. Tracy must have sensed she was being watched because she glanced around the cave. Their eyes connected and she gave him a slightly bemused smile before blinking and turning back to Mallory. Mallory turned and gave him a knowing smile.

“You never did say what she was,” Bert reminded him.

Mitchell turned and scowled at the old man. “She’s a grizzly shifter,” he replied. “Do you know where my things are?”

Bert waved his pipe at a woven basket. “Good thing you like to travel light. That climb is almost too much for an old man like me anymore.”

Mitchell paused before opening the lid of the basket. “Did…?”

Bert clucked his tongue. “We all made it. You’ve only been gone a few days. We can manage a few on our own, you know.”

Mitchell swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat. Relief mixed with his fatigue. The combination of mental and physical exhaustion made him feel off-balanced. He turned when he heard the sound of feminine tsking.

“Bert, let the poor boy get out of those wet clothes before he gets sick. We can’t afford to use up our supply of medicine before the summer flowers bloom,” Anna chided.

“Thanks, Anna. I’ll be right back,” Mitchell said.

He stepped behind the makeshift wall that gave Bert and Anna privacy and stripped out of his wet clothes. Goosebumps coated his chilled skin as he dried himself with the coarse scrap of material he had taken out of his belongings. He dressed in a pair of thin thermals, followed by soft leather trousers and a long tunic.

As he bent down, he noticed a delicate necklace lying on the ground, having fallen out of the basket when he pulled the tunic out. He had found the triangular piece of metal in this very cave when he was eleven. It had been buried in the sand along the wall near where he was standing now.

He scanned the fascinating array of petroglyphs that adorned the wall. No matter how diligently he had searched through the images, he couldn't find a single one that bore any resemblance to the triangle. The presence of a loop at the end made him consider the possibility that it was meant to be worn as a necklace. He had given the piece to his father as a gift, and his father had worn it up to the day he had died.

Mitchell's fingers gently explored the slender leather and intricate bead chain that it hung from. The necklace carried the weight of memories and held immense sentimental value. The metal surface was adorned with small, intricate inscriptions. The passage of time had rendered some barely visible, their presence only hinted at by faint outlines. He sighed, feeling the smooth texture of the thin leather against his fingertips as he slid it over his head and tucked it safely inside his shirt.

I need all the help I can get, Dad. You believed that one day humans and shifters would live together. I hope that day has come.

He closed his eyes and pulled up the memories of his father’s stories. Stories that had enchanted him with tales of a great king, a mythical world, and the key that could open a door to a world where humans and shifters lived side-by-side. He absently fingered the intricately carved piece under his shirt. With another sigh, he realized that he was procrastinating.

He lifted the padded vest and slid it over his tunic before pulling on a jacket. By the time he was finished, he almost felt thawed. Some hot food and drink followed by rest would help. His body flushed at the thought of holding Tracy in his arms.

“That works, too,” he mused.

“What works?”

He scowled at Jace. “Me beating the shit out of you,” he retorted.

“I’d like to see you try,” Jace scoffed. "Food's ready and so is everyone else.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he muttered, following Jace into the main area of the cave.